ALFAGTV6.COM

[MD]

Seems like I just finished opening my Christmas presents but then I realised they were from last year !
Has this year been a blurr for you? Has for me.

May the Alfa fairies of Christmas keep your transaxle running smooth and true all year and may all your Christmas nuts never go dry in the bag..

Merry Christmas from Oz all you greaseballs..

MD

[Micke]

Tip #32:

DO NOT EAT YELLOW SNOW!

[MD]

Ha haa. Good one Micke.

Mr Admisnistrator,

If the following joke seems too political, feel free to give it the flick. Got this in a recent email and it seems very topical..

So the story goes..
A Japanese company ( Toyota ) and an American company (Ford Motors) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri river. Both teams practised long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 7 people steering and 2 people rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order; American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing. Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 2 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 2 people rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rowers. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses. The pension program was trimmed to 'equal the competition' and some of the resultant savings were channeled into morale boosting programs and teamwork posters.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid-off one rower, halted developmen t of a new canoe, sold all the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses.

The next year, try as he might, the lone designated rower was unable to even finish the race (having no paddles,) so he was laid off for unacceptable performance, all canoe equipment was sold and the next year's racing team was out-sourced to India .

Sadly, the End.

Here's something else to think about:

FORD has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US, claiming they can't make money paying American wages.

TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US . The last quarter's results:

TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses.

FORD folks are still scratching their heads, and collecting bonuses.

IF THIS WEREN'T SO TRUE ? IT MIGHT BE FUNNY..

[Mats]

That's because the new companies coming to the US refuse to sign the utterly stupid union deals.

[Greg Gordon]

Mats, the U.S. media does a great job of convincing people that the union contracts are the main problem for the big three. However the facts are that workers at Toyota make more than an equivalent UAW worker at G.M. At Honda they make only slightly less. The unions are not the problem. The problem is that people are not willing to pay as much for a Chevy or Ford as they are for an equivalent car from Toyota or Honda.

We also keep hearing the anti-union health care cost argument. I submit that's really a problem with the quality of the cars being offered. For example the difference in price between what people pay for a 2009 Chevy Cobalt and an equivalent Honda Civic more than makes up for the entire per vehicle health car cost associated with the workers. Go drive each car and you will see why. I would gladly pay an extra $1000 or more for the Honda.

Greg Gordon,
www.hiperformancestore.com

[MD]

Throw a little rock in the pool and just look at all the ripples !!

So Greg, I can understand the Japanese worker and mindset making a better car in Japan but are you saying the American worker is making a better "Japanese" car in the USA than the "same" worker produces when building an American car?

Why is that? Better design? Better made sub-assemblies, parts? A bigger whip from managment?

[Mats]

Mats, the U.S. media does a great job of convincing people that the union contracts are the main problem for the big three. However the facts are that workers at Toyota make more than an equivalent UAW worker at G.M. At Honda they make only slightly less. The unions are not the problem. The problem is that people are not willing to pay as much for a Chevy or Ford as they are for an equivalent car from Toyota or Honda.

We also keep hearing the anti-union health care cost argument. I submit that's really a problem with the quality of the cars being offered. For example the difference in price between what people pay for a 2009 Chevy Cobalt and an equivalent Honda Civic more than makes up for the entire per vehicle health car cost associated with the workers. Go drive each car and you will see why. I would gladly pay an extra $1000 or more for the Honda.

Greg Gordon,
http://www.hiperformancestore.com

The deal includes all pay, health care and other fringes.
But I hear you, I'm not really into Neons or Windstars either.

[Greg Gordon]

Hi MD,

I don't think the problem is with the workers. They build what they are instructed to build. Sorry for the long post, but I am sensitive to people always blaming unions and workers when it's a management problem.

As I see it the problem at G.M. is that they have an essentially flat learning curve. For example, I bought my first car when I was 14 in 1980. It was a 1964 Buick Riviera. It was a great car. The first repair I did to it was replacing a left side broken motor mount. When I looked at the mount I though it was pretty obvious why it broke. The design was poor (granted, it lasted well past the warranty period) and I felt it could have been made a lot stronger for very little money (I had seen many superior designs on much less expensive cars).

Now fast forward to today. I own a 2003 Buick LeSabre. Overall, it's a good car and at one time was the number one selling full size car in the U.S. (mine was special ordered with a stiffer suspension, fast ratio steering, and lower gears). A few months ago, it developed a bad clunking sound. Guess what? It was a failed forward motor/transaxle mount. It was essentially the same design and failed in exactly the same way as the left motor mount on my 1964 Riviera. So in forty years, Buick failed to improve an item that is a common failure point on these cars. They ignore the problem because the car is off warranty, so they don't care. However these things do effect owner satisfaction and resale value so they do affect customer's purchase plans.

Now Buick has replaced the LeSabre with the Lucerne. My wife and I went and looked at it. Every single problem the LeSabre has, they transfered over to the Lucerne. I mean every one! Most of these problems would have cost nothing to fix on a new design, but they didn't do it.

Greg Gordon,
http://www.hiperformancestore.com

[Greg Gordon]

Mats, I am aware that an employee's total compensation package includes salary, health care, retirement, vacations, days off, uniforms, etc. Trust me, when it's time to negotiate pay, every employer has a way of spinning these numbers to make it look they pay the most, so I won't even begin to speculate on which total compensation package is highest.

Greg

[Murray]

Well if you guys are going to hijack this thread then I might as well join in This subject is one which I think about alot as I make my living repairing cars (garage owner) and I live on a continent where our economy depends to a great extent on manufacturing cars.As I watch all the goings on, one thing concerns me more than anything else.I have three sons,21,18 & 17.They are all gearheads and 2 of them are following me in my love for motorsport- Solo racing.As Listen to them talk and as I listen to their friends talk, the subject of vehicles from the 3 N.A. manufacturers doesn't come up in the conversation.When I'm at the track the only N.A.car I'm likely to see is a Mustang.Essentially Ford,GM & Chrysler have lost the next generation There was a time,and I'm old enough to have been there,when American cars stirred the soul. That's gone, perhaps with the exception of the Vette and the Mustang.So no matter how much money we throw at these former "big3" companies I don't see them staging a "comeback" anytime soon.They'll get what they've earned and it will hurt us all !

[MR2 Zig]

Merry Christmas to all!

[Bruce]

Unions are (normally) free-minded people coming together to from a "union", hence the name. I used to be a staff-representative and the main issues I had were management not following their own procedures and rules, and using their position to bully and intimidate staff! Being in the same industry for 20 years (transport), I observed they were more interested in looking after themselves then being customer focused. This is perhaps why Japanese companies are more successful then their host counterparts.

I lost my job earlier this year (can't wait to get rid of 2008!) because management, at every level, colluded and used dubious underhand methods to force through cost-cutting measures. I could have appealed against losing my job but I was more interested in getting the redundancy payout.

If it sounds like I am anti-management, I am not. There is a need for competent management and an able workforce. I worked with some fantastic people, at every level, who went the extra mile to make up for deficient work colleagues.

This is what I found in the UK, you probably have similar stories in the US and elsewhere.

Anyway, Happy Christmas.

[MR2 Zig]

Bruce,
I think you've hit the nail on the head......Competent people getting the work done while nitwits are busy covering their arse....

Expressed another way is what we call the 80/20 rule....20 percent of the workers do 80 percent of the work.

Seems to me that the bigger the company the more room there is for incompetentce to be around.

I'm a union guy, but I've worked in plenty of non-union shops. I think that poor management brings on unions. Management has done something (or many things) to deserve a union.

Scott

[kevin]

Very interesting reading.
Some Christmas cheer to follow
These three (not so wise) men arrive at the Pearly Gates on Christmas Eve. St. Peter says, “Because it’s Christmas, I will only let you in if you can produce something that reflects the spirit of Christmas. The first guy reaches into his pocket and produces a cigarette lighter, which he lights. “What is that supposed to represent?” says St Peter. “It represents the candles we light at Christmas,” he says. “Good man, go through.



The next man finds his car keys in his pocket. He jingles them, and says they represent the bells that are rung at Christmas. St. Peter lets him through.



The last guy is having a problem, but eventually reaches into his pocket and brings out a flimsy, frilly pair of panties! St. Peter gives him the jaundiced eye and says, “Well, what have they got to do with Christmas?” The guy answers: “They’re Carol’s!”

Cheers
Kevin

[ar4me]

Happy Holidays to you all from Southern California. May all your Alfa dreams come true in the new year. This is what the local Maserati dealer has for sale: http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?c ... cardist=16
Guess the poor economy has left a few cars stranded at dealers. Does santa make those ?
Jes